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much of anything.” After riding briefly as an amateur, he went professional. He soon met with success, logging his first win on Run Up the Flag at the Middleburg Spring Races in Virginia.
Nagle had a spectacular season in 2017, winning 19 races and his first NSA jockey championship title. “That is something I’m very proud of,” he told readers back home in The Corkman, based in County Cork. “Anybody can have a good year, or anybody can win a big race on a good horse. But
to ride a lot of winners like that, you need to be good or consistent, or whatever you want to call it, over a period of time. I am very proud of that.”
It’s an intensely demanding sport. Jockeys intent on whittling away pounds sometimes develop popping ears and leg cramps. At 6 feet tall, Nagle sometimes struggles to keep his weight under 150 pounds. That said, he views strength and fitness as a distinct competitive advantage, as well as a hedge against injury.
A key to his success is keeping it all in perspective. “I get disillusioned with the whole thing from time to time,” he said in
34 STEEPLECHASE LOOKBOOK 2019 | todaymediainc.com
TOD MARKS, COURTESY OF THE NATIONAL STEEPLECHASE ASSOCIATION